Almost 2 years ago I rescued a scruffy little ball of energy named Toby. Toby had been with a family who kept him crated for 22 hours a day. They never took him out for play or just to be out and about. He had no human contact and no love. The first few months of us being together was a true battle of wills. Toby didn’t trust me and showed out in his own little way. One being is fetish for underwear and his love of playing keep away with my socks. He would wake in the night howling and I would sooth him back to sleep, my heart breaking at the thought of him doing that alone in a dark crate with no one there to show him that compassion.
Fast forward to today…Toby the tiger is full of life and now has the security of his new home. He runs the place and boy does he know it. He is loving and sweet and I am so glad to be able to give him a better quality of life.
About 5 months ago I noticed that his left eye was starting to get cloudy. The vet tested his eye pressure and just found it to be a cataract but nothing serious or life threatening. Right before the New Year he started having trouble keeping that eye open so the vet prescribed him some pain medicine and an antibiotic in the event of an infection. She also retested his pressure and found it to be normal. Just 2 days ago my friend awoke shaking and unable to keep the eye open again. He refused to eat or drink and just slept or followed me around and lying at my feet (which is not normal for him).
I took him to Banfield where they tested his pressure to find that it was now 72 (25 being normal). It was found that he has glaucoma behind the cataract. Toby was in so much pain that he could barely walk as if he was off balance and was constantly trembling. I was prescribed drops and oral pain meds to help alleviate some of the pain. To my dismay the drops did nothing to reduce the pressure and the pain meds were a minimal help. Toby will have to have his left eye removed. Although I hate to see this happen, I know it’s for the best. He has since been put on an additional pain medicine and has bounced back very nicely. He is now eating a bit more and drinking. He even went on a walk where he led me to his favorite spots. This, however, is a temporary fix. Soon the pain medicine will not work to alleviate the added pressure to his eye.
The urgency is very great to get his surgery done right away. That is why I have created an online fundraiser asking for assistance in helping me with his surgery. The cost is around $1000 and I am far from having that much. I have posted my link on Facebook and have reached out to friends and family. I am now calling on the kindness of strangers. Any assistance that you can give will be greatly appreciated. I have my own personal deadline for this surgery…ASAP, but hope it can be done within the next few weeks depending on the donations and what I can come up with. The link to donate is http://gfwd.at/1xFGE09. I want to thank you for taking the time to read and if you donate I am especially thankful.
how2empoweru 